Foam dispensing head for aerosol dispensers



May 11, 1954 R. H. ABPLANALP FOAM DISPENSING HEAD FOR AEROSOL DISPENSERS Filed 001;. 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 SLIDE FORWARD w RH mm w w M m mm 4 w RD 5 ns 6 T w P 6 7 6 7 a Q W //4? Illa,

HTT'OR/VEV May 11, 1954 R. H. ABPLANALP I FOAM DISPENSING HEAD FOR AEROSOL DISPENSERS Filed Oct. 29. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "-1 5 5 INVENTORE Passer/Z flspummp ATTORNEY Patented May 11, 1954 FOAM DISPENSING HEAD FOR AEROSOL DISPENSERS Robert H. Abplanalp, Bronx, N. Y., assignor of one-third to Frederick G. Lodes and one-third to John J. Baessler, both of Yonkers, N. Y.

Application October 29, 1952, Serial No. 317,540

19 Claims. (Cl. 222-545) This invention relates to the dispensing of aerosols in foam form, in contradistinction to those aerosols which are delivered in the form of spray or mist. The invention is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with toiletries in cream, paste and lather form, e. g., tooth paste, shaving cream, soap, etc., as well as a wide variety of other materials which it may be desirable to dispense in foaming condition.

The object of this invention is to provide a highly efficient, convenient and easily operated dispensing head adapted to be attached to an aerosol pressurized container and so constituted as to preclude inadvertent dispensing of the material during shipment or handling. It is characteristic of the invention, as it will hereinafter be more fully explained, that containers equipped with the head of the resent invention may be stacked one upon another in shipping cartons or for display purposes, without danger of releasing the material from any of them.

Speaking generally, the dispensing head of this invention comprises a spout fixture adapted to be permanently mounted and rigidly supported upon the pressurized container in cooperative relation with the stem of the dispensing valve which controls the flow of material from such container. The spout fixture includes a spout through which the material may be delivered and also a valve operatin plunger mounted on a diaphragm and normally maintained in a position to insure closing of the dispensing valve. Associated with said spout fixture is an actuator mounted for sliding movement from a retracted position to an advanced position, or vice versa. It is so constituted that when slid into advanced position, it may be pressed against the plunger of the spout fixture to actuate the valve stem and dispense the pressurized material through the spout in the form of foam. When slid into retracted position, it is positively spaced from the plunger so that it is impossible to actuate the plunger through pressure imparted by the actuator and thus the package is safeguarded against inadvertent release of its contents.

Features of the invention, other than those adverted to, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description and appended claims, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

i The accompanying drawings illustrate one practical embodimentof the invention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood asillustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of. the invention. r

Fig. l is a plan view of a dispensing head embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the head with the the actuator in normally retracted position and locked against actuation of the dispensing valve.

Fig. 3 is a view like unto Fig. 2, but with the actuator manually slid into forward or advanced position wherein it may be operated by downward pressure to dispense the pressurized material.

Fig. 4 shows the actuator being pressed down to effect the dispensing operation.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 with the actuator in the same position as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Figs. 6 and 7 are sections taken on the line 6-6 and 1-! looking in the direction of the respective arrows on this line and illustrating the relation of certain spacing lands formed on the actuator.

Fig. 8 is a section corresponding to Fig. 5, showing the actuator in a position in which it is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 is a view corresponding to Fig. 8, but showing actuator pressed down as illustrated in Fig. 4.

The dispensing head of the present invention may be used in conjunction with any aerosol dispenser container having a dispensing valve controlled by a valve stem which may be pressed to release the pressurized material into a passage leading to the spout of the dispenser head of this invention. Some modification in the manner of mounting the head upon the can or other container will in many cases be required to adapt the head to particular containers, but where they depend upon the pressure of the valve stem to release the material, the head of invention may be used.

For the purpose of concrete illustration, however, said head is shown associated with the type of dispenser valve and container mounting disclosed in my pending application, Serial No. 118,- 301, filed September 18, 1949, on Valve Mechanisms, now Patent No. 2,631,814. Thus, as shown in Fig. 5, a valve body (not shown) is supported within a valve housing I, carried by a container mounting cup 2 which is, in turn, permanently secured to the pressurized container 3. The valve body is provided with a coaxial tubular valve stem 4 and when this valve stem is the present pressed downwardly, the pressurized material flows upwardly through the valve stem and is discharged through the upper open end thereof. These parts, shown in Fig. 5, in dot and dash upper portion of the spout fixture.

greater height than the height of the valve housing I. The lower portion of this tubular section is adapted to receive and fit closely over and about the hub of the valve mounting which, in the structure shown, is the valve housing 5. In different makes of containers, the hub may be of entirely different form, but may be defined generally as a projecting part of the container assembly through which the valve stem extends.

and. through which the pressurized material passes from the container. Near its upper end said section is provided with an integral laterally extending spout 6-. Below the spout it is desirableto also provide the tubular section with an integral cap l adapted to closely fit over the valve mounting cup 2 of this particular dispenser and thus provide a neat cover for the container.

The upper end of the tubular section is closed by a flexible diaphragm 8 which carries a centrally located plunger 9. Portions of this plunger project above and below the diaphragm as shown, and the upper portion of the plunger projects well above theupper edge f8-of the tubular section. The lower end of the plunger 9 is provided with a transverse channel-or notch H3, also shown in Fig. 6, so as topermit the pressurized material to flow through the open upper end of the valve stem even though the lower end of the plunger and said upper end of the valve stem are engaged with one another, which they are during the dispensing operation. Provision could be made to the same end by other means, as by notching theupper end of the valve stem l', if desired.

The actuator I I is in the form of a horizontally elongated hollow shell having an open bottom. vlit is superimposed upon and encloses most of the vided around its periphery, except at its forward end, with a depending skirt l2. forming the side wallof theishell. At theforward end of the shell, the skirt is omitted to provide an. opening l3 through whichthe spout extends and across the lower portionof the. skirt, at said forward end and extending below the spout, is a retaining strip l4, see Figs. 5 and 6.. This retaining strip anchors the forward; end of the actuator to the spout 6 so that said .end. cannot elevate from the spout. However, the remainder of the length of the-actuator is free from retaining means, so that it may be tilted upwardly fromthe position shown in Figs. 2 and 5' to that shown in Figs. 3 and 8. The-opening I3 is of a size to closely embrace the spout 6; and yet permit longitudinalsliding movement of the actuator along the length of the spout from the positionof Fig. 5 to the position of Fig. 8, and the shaping of. the skirt, as shown in Figs. 1, 6 and '7, is such as to permit of this sliding movement.

Positioned on the under side of the upper wall of the actuator shell is a depending valve operating boss l'5, having a substantially flat horizontal surface {Eat the forward end of which is a cam ming surface l'T-see particularly Figs. 5, 7, 8 and 9. This boss is so positioned on the under side of the rear portion of the actuator shell that, when the actuator is in the retracted position shown in Fig. 5, the boss willbe retractedto a It is propoint rearwardly of the plunger 9 and will rest upon the upper edge H; of the tubular section 5, as shown in Fig. 5. Likewise when the actuator is in this position, lands l9 and 20, formed on ledges or the under side of the actuator in the same plane as the surface I6 of the plunger operating boss [5, will also rest upon the upper edge I8 of said tubular section and together these parts will form spacing means to resist downward movement of the actuator. Inasmuch as the plunger 9 projects upwardly between the lands l9 and 20 and the boss it, when the actuator is in this retracted position, it will be utterly impossible to operate the plunger while the actuator is so retracted. This will be clear from Fig. 5 where clearance is shown between the upper end of the plunger and the under side, of the top wall of the actuator. As long as this condition prevails, the material within the container cannot be dispensed and a number of said containers may be packed on top of one another in cartons for shipment or storage without danger of discharge of their contents.

In order to operate the valve stem 4 for the purpose of discharging material from the container, it is necessary to slide the actuator in the direction of the open end of the spout sufficiently to position the valve operating surface It of the boss directly above the upper end of the plunger 9. Since the upper portion of the plunger 9 projects appreciably above the upper edge E8 of the tubular section, this means that the rear ortion of the actuator must be tilted upwardly. This is accomplished by placing a finger against the rear end of the actuator as shown in Fig. 2 and sliding the actuator forwardly (to the left in Figs. 2 and 5) into the position shown in Fig. 3 until its forward end engages a positive stop 2| near the outer end of the spout. As the actuator is thus slid forwardly, the camming surface I! rides upwardly onto the top of the plunger 9 and causes the uptilting of the actuator into the position shown in Figs. 3 and 8. When the forward movement of the actuator has been completed, the valve operating surface It of the boss 15 will rest directly above and upon the upper end of the plunger 9, as shown in Fig. 8, while the lands l9 and 26' will be sumciently displaced from the upper edge it of the tubular section as to permit downward pressure upon the upper surface of the actuator to be transferred to and 7 act upon the plunger s for the purpose of depressing the valve stem 4.

Thevalve mechanism generally includes an upwardly acting spring or some other pressure means which tends to hold the said stem lifted until. a predetermined downward pressure is applied thereto. When the finger is pressed downupon the actuator, as shown in Fig. 4 and indicated by the arrow in Fig. 9, the actuator is tilted down,- wardly into horizontal position, "carrying with it the plunger 9. which acts to depress the valve stem 4 with the result thatthe pressurized material in the container 3 passes upwardly through the hollow valve stem and outwardly through the-transverse channel it of the plunger into that portion 22 of the interior of the tubular section between the valve housing I and the diaphragm 3.

This portion 22 serves as an expansion chamber to exhausted or until downward pressure of the finger upon the actuatoris relieved, in which latter event the rear portion of the actuator will immediately tilt upwardly, permitting the valve to close and shut off further flow. After the dispensing operation is finished, the actuator may be readily slid back from its advanced position to the retracted position of Figs. 1, 2 and 5, leaving the package in such condition as to eliminate possibility of inadvertent discharge.

It is noticeable thatthe operations of the actuator, as described, require relatively little pressure because of the structure of the latter, including leverage which enters into the dispensing operation.

It has been found convenient and highly efllcient to mold the several parts of my dispensing head from organic plastics by simple pressure molding and then spring them together for the purpose of assembly with respect to one another with subsequent springing or stretching of the lower end of the tubular section 5 over the valve housing I and also the cap I over the flange at the top of the container. When thus made, close tolerances are not essential and the natural elasticity and flexibility of the parts permit integral formation of the diaphragm 8 and fairly close fit, even under slight stretching of certain parts to facilitate their assembly and operation. If desired, a slight protuberance 23 may be provided on the under side of the spout so as to lie forwardly of the retainer [4 when the actuator is in retracted position. Such a slight protuberance will have the effect of locking the actuator in such retracted position although it may be pressed forward from this protuberance by manual pressure of the fingers indicated in Fig. 2. Such a protuberance is, however, unnecessay for it is found that the opening I 3 will cling closely to the exterior of the spout and thus produce suflicient friction to effectually hold the actuator in either forward or retracted position until manually moved as hereinbefore described.

With the head of the present invention, aerosols in foam form are much more easily manually dispensed than through the use of push buttons, rotary valves and other expedients which have heretofore been employed for, among other things. the slide is sufliciently large to be readily manipulated and soap or other slippery material on the fingers will not in any way interfere with the dispensing operation.

The foregoing detailed description sets forth the invention in its preferred practical form, but the invention is to be understood as fully commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A foam dispensing head for an aerosol container comprising: a spout fixture having a tubu lar section open at one end with a plunger at its opposite end and an outlet spout intermediate its ends, and an actuator mounted upon the tubular section for sliding movement longitudinally of the spout from retracted to advanced positions and vice versa, said actuator having means operatively engaging the plunger when in advanced position and free from engagement with the plunger when in retracted position.

2. A foam dispensing head according to claim 1, wherein the plunger is carried by a flexible diaphragm which seals the corresponding end of the a tubular section.

3. A foam dispensing head according to claim 1,

wherein the plunger engaging means is in the form of a boss positioned laterally of the plunger when the plunger is in retracted position and having at its forward end a camming surface adapted to ride up onto the plunger when the actuator is moved into advanced position.

4. A foam dispensing head according to claim 1, wherein the actuator is provided at its forward end with an Opening the margin of which embraces the spout to mount the actuator for longitudinal sliding on the spout fixture while permitting tilting movement of said actuator relative to said fixture.

5. A foam dispensing head for a pressurized container having a hub and a discharge valve stem projecting therefrom, said head comprising: a spout fixture having a spout, a walled passage communicating intermediate its ends with said spout with one end of said passage adapted to closely fit over the container hub and the other end of the passage having a valve stem operating plunger positioned to aline with the container valve stem, in combination with a manually operable actuator having means supporting it on the spout fixture for movement cross axially of said plunger from retracted to advanced positions and vice versa, and means on the actuator to render the valve stem operable by the actuator through the plunger when the actuator is in advanced position and inoperative thereby when in retracted position.

6. A foam dispensing head according to claim 5, wherein the valve stem operating plunger is carried by a flexible diaphragm which seals that end of the walled passage.

'7. A foam dispensin head according to claim 5, wherein the actuator is supported on the spout fixture for both cross axial and tilting movements and is provided with a valve stem operating member to be positioned by said cross axial movement of the actuator in cooperative relation to the plunger and the plunger then operated by manually tilting of the actuator.

8. A foam dispensing head for an aerosol container which has an upstanding hub and a discharge valve projecting upwardly therefrom, said head comprising: a tubular section the lower end of which is adapted to closely embrace the. container hub and the upper end of which has. a plunger coaxial with said section, said section being provided intermediate its ends with a laterally projecting outlet spout, and an actuator embodying a horizontally elongated shell having an open bottom fittin down over the upper end of the tubular section and provided at the spout end of said shell with a retainer extending across its open bottom beneath the spout to permit of uptilting of the opposite end of the shell and also longitudinal horizontal sliding movement of the shell along the spout from a retracted position at the base of the spout to an advanced position near the end of the spout, means on the under side of the shell to space the shell from operative engagement with the plunger when the shell is in horizonta1 retracted position, and means also on the under side of the shell to engage with the plunger when the shell is in advanced uptilted position to permit of operation of the plunger and its associated valve stem by downwardly exerted manual pressure applied to the shell when in the latter uptilted position.

9. A foam dispensing head according to claim 8, wherein the plunger is carried by a flexible diaphragm which seals the upper end of the tubular section.

10; A foam; dispensing; head according toclai'm 8; wherein the spacing means. on the underside ofthe shell: are .ledgeslforming lands and: wherein-Jthe' meanslon, the under side of" the shellto engageewith the plunger: is a-lbosszhaving a plunger engaging surface; 7

11h. foama dispensing head according to claim 8', wherein. the means one the: under side of'the shell to. engage the plunger is: a. boss having a camming surface at its forwardi end merging int'oe avalve stem operating surface.

1a A foamdispensinghead according tolclaim 8, wherein the spout fixture is provided with a downwardly facingintegral cap adapted to fit oven and serveas a cover. for the topv of; the associated container;

13*. A foam dispensing head for operating the valvestem of an aerosol container; comprising: a spout fixture having a foam discharge passage therethrough, a valve actuator" mounted: upon the spout-fixture for movement from retracted to 15. Foam dispensing head according to claim 13, wherein a seal is positioned between the valve stem and. the actuator to preclude leakage of foam at this point.

1-6. foam dispensing head for operating the 8 valve; stem; of an. aerosol? container; comprising: a1 spout fixture: having therethrough-z a. walled discharge; passage witlr a movablezvalve opening member operating. through. the wall. of' said passage tooverli'e the valvastem operable when pressed: against, it; to: open: the valve; and. an actuaton'mounted. on. the spoutfixture formove mentv from anormally retracted: position: into co;-

operativea relationwith the valve: opening; memher to permit thezappli'catiomof" pressure through the: actuatontolsaid; member to open the: valve and: returnable to the: retracted; position inoperae tively: remote from said valve opening member.

117; Foam dispensing head: according" to; claim 16, wherein the valve opening member comprises aplungen interposed between the actuator and the: vat/e stem.

1-8; Foam. dispensing head accordingto. claim 1 6; wherein: the valve opening member comprises a plunger carried by: afiexible' diaphragm and interposed between the actuator and the valve stem;

1 9; Foamdispensing head according: to; claim 1 6; wherein the actuator is: supported for slid.- ing: movement transverselyacross: the top: of the spout; fixture and is also tiltable with: respect to fixture;

References. Cited in the file of, this patent UiN-ITED STATESi PATENTS."

Number" Name- Date- 1,992 ;O67' Gunn Feb. 19', I935 2;420',585 Grimmins May 1'3; 1%? 

